I got on the bus that passed in front of my school to go to Sendai station.
There was no driver in this bus, because in this era all buses were automatically controlled by the online system. Also, the government was fully subsidized all public transportation cost, so I did not need to pay.
This bus used electricity as its power, and nowadays cars in Japan did not use gasoline for its fuel, they were using electricity as their power.
After arriving at Sendai station, I walked 350 meters to get to the shrine that was located near the Sendai station.
My purpose to go to this shrine was to know about the potential of my skill ‘SOUL GATHERING’.
After 5 minutes of walking, I arrived in front of the shrine. This shrine building was surrounded by apartments.
http%3a%2f%2f2.bp.blogspot.com%2f-THFUDWeuQKU%2fVf...0%2fkuil.jpg [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-THFUDWeuQKU/VfvAciW40BI/AAAAAAAAAEo/9XOmpkPRwiY/s640/kuil.jpg]
In that instant, I was greeted by a young girl, she dressed in a large white clothes, and with a red skirt that reached her ankle.
She was a woman who devoted herself to the shrine as a shrine’s maiden or a supplementary priestess, she was known as ‘Miko’.
Miko tasked was to lead the ritual, dancing, selling temple tickets, selling good luck charms, and cleaning the temple.
It seemed there were no people who visit this temple at this hour, because it was still at 2 pm in the afternoon, and usually people visited the temple at 4 pm.
I used this chance to ask about my skill, because she apparently was not busy.
I immediately greeted and bowed to her.
"Hello good afternoon, I come here to ask about my supernatural ability. I just achieved this power’s today, and tomorrow I have to choose my major. "
She seemed to be surprised by my arrival, then she was bowing me back.
In Japan, there was a culture of bowing to greet someone, this culture known as ‘Ojigi’.
Bowing was considered extremely important in Japan, and children normally began learning on how to bow from a very young age, companies commonly provided training to their employees on how to execute bows correctly.
Afterwards, she was folding her hands and tapping her right elbow with his left hand’s fingers. By seeing her movements, she seemed confuse with my question.
" It was very rare for people who come here to ask about their supernatural abilities, but I will try to help you as much as possible, let me see your skill."
I showed my skill and status display to her, and she began to give her opinion.
"Hmmm .. I've never heard about this skill before. The funeral also doesn’t need a supernatural power to take care tombs."
"......."
I could not say anything.
And, I did not know what to do anymore.
My skill was absolutely useless to be applied for a normal work, even the job that recommended by howlet as a grave keeper could not be done.
But I still not give up, and I decided to ask more questions to her.
"Is there anything else that I can do with this skill? Please help.. every opinion could be useful for me. "
She immediately frowned, and holding her chin with her left hand, after that she scratched her head.
She apparently did not know what to say anymore.
"I don’t know the job that you can do with this skill, but it seems that this skill only takes the energy of living beings that had already died, but not their spirit."
Hearing this, I decided to dig that information deeper.
"Hmm.. I see, so what is the difference between the soul and the spirit?"
"Yes they are different, in the living body there are two different things, the soul and the spirit. "
She started to use her hands to give an explanation about the difference between the soul and the spirit. Her left and right hand were using to give a parable explanations between two different things.
“ The soul is the energy of living beings, they use that energy to maintain their life on earth. Whereas, the spirit is their consciousness, they use the spirit to control their energy while on earth.
When someone dies, their spirit went straight to the afterlife, while their soul dispersed into nature, and their physique rotted "
"So, what does my skill do?"
“ Your skill takes the energy of living beings who has just died, so instead its dispersed into nature, you take their energy to be used by yourself.”
Her explanation was rather complicated.
But, I came to know about the things that I could do with this skill.
Finally, I decided to ask the last question before I go.
"Why should our supernatural power awakened by a CT scan machine?"
She raised her eyebrows and smiling, it seemed she often heard this question.
"Ah ... That's because the aura is part of our soul. For example, a freshly cooked meat will be fuming, and imagines that steam is our aura. When the steam blows off, then the meat will be colder. So, the principle is the same as our aura, when our aura is affected then our soul will also be affected too. "
"Okay .... Thanks for the explanation."
Afterwards, I thanked her by bowing and smiling, then I decided to go out of the shrine.
Now I know the basic principles of human supernatural power awakening, so by affecting the aura then our soul would be affected too, and the hidden supernatural power in the body would be awakened.
Obviously, this knowledge was very useful, and with this knowledge I would be able to plan my next steps.
# # #
It was already half past three in the afternoon, and I decided to go to Sendai Asaichi market that located near the Sendai station. It only took five minutes walk from the station to get into this market.
http%3a%2f%2f2.bp.blogspot.com%2f-Vf7P5hVN3gc%2fVf...%252Basa.jpg [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vf7P5hVN3gc/VfvB-etpFSI/AAAAAAAAAE0/NF6UyNGvoMA/s640/sendai%2Basa.jpg]
Sendai Asaichi market was known as the kitchen’s of Sendai, because that market contained a wide variety of groceries for cooking. It was also known as the 'morning market', but still there were many stores that still open till the night.
There were many shophouse buildings that surrounded this market.
I went through the main street which also quite narrow, because many sellers were selling their stuff on the street. However, the cleanliness in this market was maintained properly, it could be seen from the street that was very clean from trash.
My purpose to go to this market was not to kill my times, but I wanted to know about my skill potential.
My skill needed a living being who had just died, but I could not arbitrarily kill living beings, therefore I would use this skill to the living creature that commonly sold in this market such as chicken and fish. So, by killing chicken or fish, I could test my skill potential.
It did not take a long time to find a fish shop in this market, I immediately noticed a store sign that saying 'Fresh Fish Shop'.
This store also sold their goods on the street, and the inside of the store was used as a storage area and place for cutting fish.
Many crowds of housewife were choosing fish in front of the store, then I decided to go inside and saw fish in the aquarium.
After looking around, my attention was fixed on the catfish that was present in large quantities in one of the aquarium.
The catfish was a species of freshwater fish that were widely available in Japan. This fish had a high durability and easily bred.
I decided to buy one catfish, and spoke to one of the staff who were cutting the fish.
"Hello sir, I want to buy a catfish, but can I be the one who killed it first?"
After hearing that, the staff who was cutting the fish immediately stopped his work, it seemed he was surprised at my question.
"Yes, you can kill the fish beforehand, but why you want to do that? "
I answered his question with the reason that I had prepared before.
"I have to be the one who killed the fish, so I can measure the meat density of that fish. I can know its density by stabbing a knife to the fish’s body. I ‘m doing this, because the more tender the meat, then its taste will be more delicious. "
The reason that I made was certainly wrong, but at least this reason would make me look like a fish expert.
But...
He was laughing at my answer.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha ... where you learn that theory? I've never heard a theory like that. Anyways, I don’t mind, if you killed it first.”
"......... .."
I ignored his laughter and kept looking into his eyes while smiling.
I knew my theory was wrong, because I'm not a fish expert, but at least I made him laughed. A person who was laughing while doing a conversation usually be more willing to negotiate.
After obtaining his agreement, I went to the catfish aquarium and choose the smallest catfish.
The catfish price was determined by its weight, so the lighter, the cheaper it was.
After that, the staff that was standing beside the aquarium, and he took his nets to catch the fish.
Then, he took that catfish to the cutting table, and hit it with a wooden stick, so that fish would lose its consciousness.
But, I stopped him, because if he hit it again then it could make that fish really died.
"Stop, I'll kill him with a knife."
Then, he allowed me to kill that fish, and after taking a knife, I hold that catfish’s body.
I did not need to say a keyword to use my 'Soul Gathering' skill, because this skill was a passive skills, so when I kill a living being then this skill will automatically active.
I focused my attention to the fish’s body and stabbed my knife into it, and I still say my skill’s name in my mind.
[SOUL GATHERING ACTIVE!]
Sphhhlt!
The catfish was dead, and in that instant I saw a white light particle flew out from its body.
Then, without thinking too much, I decided to grab it.
Once I held it, the particles were disappearing in the palm of my hand, it seemed that particles had been absorbed into my body.
I then withdrew from the cutting table, so the staff could continue his work.
The staff expression’s looked normal, maybe he did not see the white light particles that came out from the catfish body.
After that, I decided to wait in front of the store.
While waiting, I opened my skill display to see the changing in my skill.
#
SKILL:
- SOUL GATHERING
[Passive Skill]
Take the soul of living beings who had just died. It cannot be used on living beings that still alive.
The amount of soul-owned : 0.1
#
Wow !!
I was surprised by the changing in my skill.
There was a new additional information on my skill, that information was the amount of soul that I had.
The amount of soul that I had, was increased to 0.1 points, it was probably because that catfish was not too strong, maybe If I killed a stronger living creature then I would get more soul.
# # #
BEEP !!
My howlet let out a notification sound, and it was already half past four in the afternoon.
I immediately left the market to go to work at 8 TWELVE convenience store, which was located near my house.
8 TWELVE convenience store had a very large network in the world, and this convenience store had lasted more than two centuries.
I chose to work part time at this convenience store because it was close to my house, and also this company’s name was already well known.
The company's brand influenced on the person’s curriculum vitae, so if that person was working in the good company, then it would be not too difficult, if he wanted to move to other company.
Finally, I got on the bus which was located in front of Sendai Asaichi market.
The situation in the bus was crowded with people, but I ignored it and turned my eyes to the streets.
Since this was still in early April, so there were many Sakura tree leaves that fell and scattered on the road. This scenery was so peaceful and it could make me feel more calm.
It's been a long time since I felt a sense of peace and calm moments, because I had been working, and had an obligation to support my family, so I rarely felt this kind of moments.
If I was born in the rich family, maybe I had been going out with a girlfriend and enjoying good times with my friends.
Life in this era was really hard for people who did not have a good supernatural power.
If there was no supernatural power, then everyone could struggle and fight to get what they wanted just by their effort. But, because there was a supernatural power then people who had no talent would be eliminated.
In the past, human greatness was measured by the amount of money that they had. But, in this era, it was not just about the amount of money that we had, but also the strength of our supernatural powers.
If the supernatural power did not exist, then the difference of the power between humans would be balanced, and there was no more discrimination against people who had a weak supernatural power.
I sank into my thoughts, and without realizing it, I had arrived at my work place.
Upon arrival, I immediately went in and headed to the employees room to change into my uniforms. I changed my clothes with a red polo shirt that had a logo of 8 TWELVE convenience stores on its chest.
Afterwards, I went straight to the cashier to run my afternoon shift.
8 TWELVE convenience store was open 24 hours a day, and there were two cashiers to serve the customer.
The working time was divided into four shifts in a single day, with 6 hours of work for each shift. All cashiers were part-time employees, and this was done to save the cost of employee salaries.
A few moments later, my co-worker came and replaced the other cashier, then as usual, he greeted me and began serving the customer.
My co-worker’s name was Kayama Okura.
He was in 10th grade at a senior high school, and he lived near the 8 TWELVE convenience store. I had been working since I was in 10th grade, so basically I was his senior at work.
While preserving the cashier, we usually talked about topics such as entertainment and hobbies.
But, today’s topics seemed rather serious than the usual topic.
" I have decided, I will take the worker major, and pursuit my goal as the manga artist. "
Woah ...
I was surprised to hear the declaration of his goals.
He also already knew what departments that he should take, it was very different from me who did not know the major that I must take.
Since the beginning, the topic of our conversation was about anime and manga.
Manga was the term for comics in Japanese language, and anime was the term for cartoon in Japanese language.
Japanese anime and manga were so famous throughout the world, and generate huge income for Japan.
At this time, manga was not printed in the book form, but it was distributed throughout the world via online, and with howlet’s translation technology made Japanese word could be read by everyone.
The manga artist’s income derived from the advertisement that displayed in the bottom of manga pages, and if someone clicked the ads, then the author would earn money, this system was known as the pay per click system.
Being a manga artist was a very prospective job, especially if the manga could be made into an anime and aired throughout the world, then if that happened, the artist would become very rich.
For example, the legendary manga named Naturo from a century ago, that manga became worldwide hits, and it was made into the anime series and movies with countless episodes. Of course, no one could imagine how much money that he got.
But at this time, it was very difficult to be successful in the world of manga and anime, because the competition was so intense. Also, because of the existence of the supernatural power made the production of manga and anime became very fast, so a lot of new titles coming out every month.
Kayama had been practicing to draw manga every day since he was still in junior high school. He used a holographic display in howlet to draw his manga.
By combining howlet hologram display and touch screen pen, he could draw a manga without using a paper. In this way, he could also directly edit the image, so the process of drawing manga became faster.
The supernatural power that possessed by many manga artists were 'Triple Thinking' and 'Dual Hand'.
By using 'Triple Thinking' power, the manga artist could think three different scenes at the same time, so they could make a good and complex story. The 'Dual Hand' skill could make manga artist to use both hands to draw different pictures at the same time.
Ordinary manga artist who did not have these supernatural skills could not compete, because they would lose in term of speed and storyline.
I finally answered Kayama’s goal declaration with a mediocre answer.
"Congratulations, I hope you can achieve those goals. If it’s published, then contact me, I will read your manga for sure. "
"Yes, thank you! I will inform you when it’s getting published."
Afterwards, we talked about anime and manga that was being aired.
# # #
Three hours had passed since I kept the cash register, and the time was shown already at 7 pm.
My supervisor gave us a break for 15 minutes, so we could had our dinner, and we did not break at the same time.
Kayama still continue to keep the cash register, and after I had finished eating I would replace Kayama, so at least there was one person who still continue keeping the cash register.
Every employee here was given a free meal, and I got a bento for tonight’s dinner.
Bento was a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. The bento that I ate tonight was white rice with seaweed sprinkles on top of it, chicken teriyaki, salad, and miso soup as the side dish.
Although this dinner was fairly simple, but I was grateful because I could have a dinner for free, other than that I did not need to bother my sister to cook dinner for me.
Everyday, my sister cooked dinner for her and my mother. This was because my mother taught private lessons until evening and usually go home at 8 pm. While my father and I had dinner outside, so there was no other person that could cook dinner at our house except Chika.
Remembering about that thing while eating, absolutely made me sad, and I also hated myself because I was powerless to change our family condition.
If our family was richer, than Chika did not need to go home early every day. She also did not need to go to the market after school to buy the food ingredients, and because of that, she could hang out with her friends or attend any extracurricular activities that she wanted.
Chika also did not need to help my mother to examine her student’s homework.
Chika also did not need to help my mother tutored her private tutor’s students every Saturday and Sunday.
Chika did not have time to gather and play with her friends at the weekend, because she had to help my mother to earn money.
If only I had a lot of money!
If only I had a great supernatural power!
AGHHHH !!
* BLAMM !!! *
I pounded my fist on the table.
It was because I was stressed and overflowing with emotions that I could not hold.
"... .."
"Hey Michio! Why did you pound the table? "
Without realizing, my supervisor saw what I had done just now.
I immediately look for a reason to cover my action, fortunately I used to make excuses, so it did not take a long time for me to find a reason.
"Sorry sir, there was a mosquito on the table, so I pounded my fist on the table to kill it, but it seems my fist did not hit the target."
"Oh ... Okay, next time don’t do that, that makes me shocked!"
Huff ...
At least, he believed that reason.
I immediately finished my dinner, and afterwards I went to keep the cash register again.
After dinner, the time seemed to be faster, it was because of the influence of my full stomach, which made me sleepy.
I stared blankly while looking at the cash register, my gaze went down slowly and focused on the numbers on the cash register machine, then my gaze shifted to a pile of money in the cash register.
Money ... money ... and money.
If .. I ... had .. a lot .. money ..
Mo..ney ...
?????? !!!
Ahh !!
I immediately remembered about the major’s selection process, then a very important question came into my mind.
Which majors that would make me earned more money, soldier or worker major?
Then, I opened my howlet’s browser display, and typing the query in the Booble search. By typing my question in the search engine, I could figure out the best major in earning money
I would search about the discussion from those who had graduated from high school and already working.
Because time was already shown at 8:30 pm, people who visited this convenience store was lesser, so I could surfing the internet without much interference.
I opened various sites, ranging from news sites, government sites, and eventually the forum. My attention was drawn to an international forum called Kaskus. It turned out this forum was made in Indonesia since a century ago. In this forum there were many discussions by people throughout the world.
In that forum there were many discussion that compared the salary of the worker and soldier major.
Thirty minutes had passed, and I had seen a lot of discussion, and the conclusion was indicating that a person's salary was determined by their supernatural power. If someone had a good supernatural power, then he would certainly get a good salary.
But, judging from the aspect of the competition between job seekers, the worker major’s competition to get a job was certainly tougher. So, a person with a useless supernatural powers like me would be very difficult to get job at the normal company.
So, there was no other way for me, if I wanted to get a decent salary, then I must choose the soldier major.
Because of the world situation, every country was in dire need of new soldiers, and because of that, the soldier’s salary was increased too. Also, from all the information that I had seen, the lowest salary earned by the student that graduated from soldier major was higher than the student that graduated from worker major.
Okay, I would choose the soldier major. I chose this major so I would get a decent salary, so my family could live more happily.
That was the purpose of my life for this moment, and I must reach it by using every possible way.
DING DING !!
My howlet let out notification sounds, because it was already past 10 pm, and that meant my work time had ended.
Afterwards, I picked up my stuff, then said goodbye to my supervisor and co-workers.
I went home by walking, because the distance between my house and workplace was close.
The condition on the street was very safe, because crime was very rare in Japan at night. If there was a bad guy then just say 'SOS' ,and the howlet system would give a GPS signal to the nearest police station, then the police would track down the howlet’s owner near that SOS signal, so the criminal would be immediately discovered and arrested.
After 15 minutes of walking, I finally arrived at my house.
My mother was still awake and she was cleaning the kitchen. My father and sister were already asleep on their futon.
I opened my bag and handed the catfish that I bought in the market today. My mother seemed a bit surprised, because I usually did not buy such thing.
My mother then put that fish into the refrigerator, and afterwards she asked me.
"Michio, so what major that you will take? "
I could no longer avoid her question, and I looked into my mother's face with all confidence.
"I will choose soldier major, although my howlet has recommended the worker major, but I'll still choose the soldier major."
My mother was somewhat surprised to hear my answer, then she sighed and smiled.
"Well, if that's your decision, so what supernatural skills that you got?"
I showed her my skill display, then she looked at it, and then she gave me her opinion.
"Soul Gathering? Hmm.. that’s an interesting skill. I never see that kind of skill, then why you want to choose the soldier major? "
"Because, It’s the major that I believe, and I will be successful in that major, so believe me, Mom!"
My mother then gave me some advice to be cautious and aware of my limits.
Our conversation eventually ended, then I rushed to shower and sleep afterwards.
I certainly could not tell the real reason to my mother.
# # #
……
………..
……………..
Dark… Why it was so dark?
Was I dreaming right now?
I could not move my body and could not open my eyes, it looked like I was in a dream world, but why it was so dark.
Suddenly….
There was a faint white light in the corner of the room, then that white light joined together, and resembled the shape of a ball.
I approached that ball of light and touched it.
BLARR !!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!??
Instantly that ball of light exploded, and then a white creature came out.
The white creature's body was made of light and resembled a human being, but he did not have a face.
http%3a%2f%2f2.bp.blogspot.com%2f-Sb9jRe6kOVc%2fVf...00%2fdom.jpg [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sb9jRe6kOVc/VfvCg0l5uGI/AAAAAAAAAE8/-8eg3wsujcs/s400/dom.jpg]
He then greeted me.
"Hello there, it’s been a long time since our last meeting.
Do you still remember me?"
The white creature was talking to me, but he did not talk with his mouth, instead his words were coming directly into my mind, maybe this was a telepathy power.
I immediately replied to his question, but I could not move my mouth, then I tried to talk to him with my mind.
" Who are you? I've never met you before. "
Then, he became silent, and the white light that radiated from his body began to fade.
"You seem to have forgotten me. It's okay, I just wanted to give you an advice. Please, don’t push yourself, and choose the major that was recommended by your howlet. It’s not good to choose a major by following your ego."
"Hmm.. Then what will happen to me, if I still choose the soldier major? "
When I asked that question, his body was slowly vanishing and finally before disappearing he said the last sentence.
"Befriend. "
Finally, he disappeared, and the darkroom was exploded then I sucked into the black hole.
I was swirling inside the black hole, and my consciousness was slowly vanishing.
Then a bright white light exploding into my face.
!!!??
“ HUAAHHH !!! “
“ HAH… HAHH……… HAA….”
I opened my eyes, and I saw my sister’s face in front of me.
She put her hands on top of my body, it seemed she was trying to wake me up. Also, there was a worried expression on her face, like she was seeing a sick person.
"Brother, What happens? Why you were screaming while sleeping? Does brother get sick? "
"Huh.. Did I scream while sleeping? Err ... what time is it? "
"It's half past 6 am. Are you alright? "
"Ah yes, I’m okay. Sorry, if I woke you up, it looks like because I'm still tired from working. "
I looked around, and it seemed my father had already gone to the office, and my mother was in the bathroom.
Fortunately, my mother was in the bathroom, so she did not hear my screaming earlier.
Afterwards, I ate my breakfast as usual, and my sister did not talk about the thing that happened earlier to my mother.
After breakfast, I deliberately go to school a bit late, I was doing this so I did not meet with Aika on the street.
If I met with Aika, she would ask about my skill, my status, and the major that I chose, therefore I had to avoid her as much as possible.
# # #
DING DONG DING
My school’s bell rang, and the time was already seven o'clock in the morning.
I managed to arrive at my classroom on time.
After that, Mr. Watanabe went into my classroom, and he also accompanied by the upperclassman who gave speeches yesterday morning.
Then, he started the class session for today.
"All students open your howlet and click your status display. There was already a notification to select the major that you want. Please choose your major now, whether its soldier or worker major, it’s all up to you. But, I suggest that you follow your howlet’s recommendation, so you won’t choose a wrong major."
All students in my classroom opened their howlet’s skill display, and I did the same thing.
When the skill display opened, a menu to choose the major was popped up.
[Which majors that you want to choose? Soldier or Worker major? ]
Hmm ...
What major that I want to choose?
That question came up again in my mind, even though I had been thinking of choosing the soldier major, but I was still in doubt.
Moreover, I saw that strange creature in my dream last night, and he told me to follow my howlet’s advice and choose the worker major.
But, if I chose the worker major then I could not get a good job.
Also, that strange creatures also gave a suggestion to "Befriend".
Friends?
What was a friend?
Friend was just a fake concept, and it would not last forever. I did not believe the existence of real friends that known as “best friend”.
When I was bullied at junior high school, there were no friends who helped me, even my close friends chose to stay away from me because they was afraid of being bullied too. If there were my real friends, then they should help me when I was bullied back then.
Friends was only temporary, and after graduate we would be separated. Friends were formed because of the need and mutual benefit. For example, school friends were just a group of people that were bound in the same school and had the same goal which was to learn.
When they had graduated, then they would not need old friends from the last school. They would be looking for new friends at new school.
The best friend concept was actually very strange, just because someone already familiar and close for a long time then they declared themselves as best friends.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The true meaning of best friend was a friend who would help each other in any conditions. But, in reality it was not like that, if you were facing a minor problem then your friends would definitely help you out. But, if you were facing great difficulty, like you went into jail or involved in serious cases such as drugs, they would certainly break up and could not become friends again.
Therefore, I thought friends were just a false illusion.
Although I thought this way, it did not mean that I did not have a friend. Indeed, I had only a few friends and it could be counted with my fingers. But of course, even though I called them friends, I never believed that they would become my friend forever.
For example, Aika as my childhood friend, despite I knew her for a long time, but I never think her as my best friend. Because, when we were graduating, then we would choose a different path, and after that we were hardly met each other again.
I also never expected Aika to became my girlfriend, because the concept of childhood friends becoming a girlfriend was just an illusion that only appeared in the anime or manga. For the proof, Aika was already going out with another man, when she was still in junior high school.
I knew Aika was going out with another man, because she told that things to me. Although, we were not in the same junior high school, but because our house was close to each other, then I often met her while I was going to school, and that’s when she often talked about her experience at her junior high school.
In conclusion, the strange creature that appeared in my dream last night was intended to deceive me, or it could be just my imagination.
I would not hesitate again, I would choose the major that could change my life.
I would choose the soldier major!
[You chose the soldier major. Do you want to choose this? Your howlet’s system recommends you to choose the worker major. ]
I had no doubt, and I tapped my howlet’s display screen again.
[You have chosen the soldier major. Thank you for choosing.]
[NOW LOADING ......]
DING!
....
[Name: Michio Taniguchi
Major: HYBRID]
....
Huh !?
Why the major that appeared was hybrid major?
What happened? Was there a system error?
I immediately opened the Booble search engine. I could not ask my teacher about this problem, because all students would know that I got the hybrid major, also I was sure almost all students would choose the major that recommended by their howlet.
After two minutes of browsing, I finally found the meaning of hybrid major.
[Hybrid major is a marker for people who didn’t choose the major that recommended by their howlet. The purpose of this is to let their instructor, teacher, and teammate to know about their real recommended major. ]
So, It was the true meaning of hybrid major.
At least, now I knew that my howlet was still fine.
After all students were finished selecting their majors, then Mr. Watanabe immediately got out of the classroom to see the situation in the other classroom.
Ten minutes passed, and he returned to our classroom, and then he instructed all students in this classroom.
"Now, all students in this class will move to another classroom, according to the major that you choose. The student who chooses the soldier major will still be in this classroom. The student who chooses the worker major will move to other classrooms, which are 11 C, 11D, and 11 E.”
Students that selected the worker major in my classroom were beginning to stand up and left their seat. There were some students who said goodbye to their friends, that was because they choose a different major.
I was sure that they would slowly stop talking to each other, because they no longer needed each other, and they would get new friends in the new classroom.
I kept sitting in my chair that located at the back row near the classroom entrance.
A moment later, students from another classrooms entered my classroom, they were students that chose the soldier major from different classrooms.
I looked to the front row seats to see new students that entered my classroom, but my vision was immediately focused on the left side of the classroom’s front row.
Huh !?
Why Aika still in this classroom?
Ah, I knew...
It turned out that Aika also chose the soldier major, so it meant that she got a good supernatural power and recommended by her howlet to choose this major.
My status might lose to Aika’s status. That was normal, I lost to her because I rarely exercised or doing any sport activities. But, Aika since she was a kid, she often did sports, especially swimming that became her favorite sport.
There were Aika, Hideki, and Ichirou who were talking to each other, and a moment later, there appeared a woman that approached them from behind.
"Hey you guys! Now, we're in the same classroom!"
Her greeting was quite loud, so I could hear her, even though I was sitting in the back rows.
After seeing her, Aika immediately showing a happy expression and she stood up to greet her.
"Hey Komaki, we have finally become classmates! Ah.. I know why you’re happy! You happy because now you are in the same classroom with Ichirou, right? .. He He. "
Hideki also promptly responded to it by patting Ichriou’s shoulder.
“ Ha Ha Ha, It’s good for you Ichirou, now you are in the same classroom as your girlfriend.”
Ichirou was blushing, then he placed his arm around Komaki’s shoulder and gave her a good firm squeeze.
Komaki had maroon eyes, pink long hair down to her chest, and at the ends of her hair formed a spiral pattern, this might be called long spiral curls hairstyle.
When compared with Aika, Komaki’s height was about 158 cm, because Aika height was about 165 cm, so by doing that I could estimate Komaki’s height. Also, by judging from her pink hair and maroon eyes, then I could be sure that she had the fire element.
If Komaki knew the true nature of Ichirou that he liked to bullying people, then her feeling would be different. If I had a chance and proof, then I would tell the truth about Ichirou to Komaki.
A moment later, Mr. Watanabe gave us an announcement.
"Hello all students in this classroom, I still remain as your homeroom teacher, and from the total of 180 students in grade 11, there are 68 people who choose the soldier major and divided into classroom 11 A and 11 B. In addition, there are 112 people who choose the worker major and divided into classroom 11 C, 11D, and 11 E. "
Then, he opened a holographic projector screen, and showing the daily schedule for our classes.
[SCHEDULE of CLASS 11-A, SOLDIER MAJOR.
School Days: Monday - Friday.
School hours: 7 am - 3 pm.
Lesson time:
- 7 am - 10 am: Ordinary lessons
- 10 am - 3 pm: Soldier major’s training such as theoretical lessons, fighting techniques, and an expedition to fight against monsters.
This schedule could change at any time depending on your instructor.
NB: Lunch break times depending on your instructor’s decision.]
After seeing that schedule, the reaction of students was diverse, there were students who complain that there was still the regular subject, there were also other students who were confused, and students who were happy because the regular school hours were reduced.
But, I did not care about this schedule, because the important thing for me was the school hours finished at 3pm, so I could still do my part time work.
From 7 am to 10 am, there was a regular lesson time. Even though I had chosen the soldier major, it did not mean that I did not need to learn the ordinary lesson again. Subjects such as Language, Social Science, Math, Science, Physical Education, Arts, and Home Economics were still taught, but the content would not as deep as the worker major student.
In the middle of the lesson activities, there was a student who asked to Mr. Watanabe.
"Sir, Are there any differences regarding the requirement to go to the next grade?"
That student question immediately drawn Mr. Watanabe attention, because that question was a very important question.
Then Mr. Watanabe answered that student’s question.
"Don’t worry, the requirements to go to the next grade is still same, that you must have enough score in normal subject tests. But, the ranking system and track record in the soldier major will greatly affect your chance to get employed or join the military after graduating."
The answer indeed clarifies the things that I feared.
The student could go to the next grade, if they had enough tests score in normal subjects, but if they performance’s was bad in the soldier major, then after graduating, it would be hard to get a job or join the military.
After graduating, the worker major student could get into college, but the soldier major student only have two options, either chose a suitable job or did the military recruitment test to join into the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
I was sure, there would be many soldier major’s student who want to join JSDF. Therefore, the selection tests would be very difficult, and the initial selection would be viewed from the student status, skills, track record and ranking. So, the student who had the bad status and track record would be automatically eliminated in the initial selection.
This was certainly bad for me, because my status and skill were already very bad, also I got the hybrid major. Then, my last hope was to improve my rankings and got a good track record, so I could be accepted in the JSDF.
# # #
Three hours passed and the next session began, the next session was the soldier major combat training.
"Alright! We will now go to the school’s sports field to do the soldier combat training, before that you will be given a special suit to fight against the monster, and also you can choose your weapon. Afterwards, you will be coached by the upperclassman and also by myself. "
All students in my class began to go to the sports field that located at the back of the school.
The school’s sports field was also used for combat training, its base was only ground and rarely had grass on it, because the combat training activities would damage the soil, so naturally there was no grass on it.
After arriving at the sport field, Mr. Watanabe and homeroom teacher from class 11 B were shaking hands and talking to each other.
It seemed these training sessions would combine two different classes together, so this session would be attended by 68 students.
Then Mr. Watanabe spoke to all students.
"Now, please separate yourself according to your gender, we want to count the number of male and female students."
Then students were splitting up by their gender, male students lined up on the left and women lined up on the right.
Then our teachers calculated the number of students.
......
"After we calculate it, there are 41 male and 27 female students. Next, we will move to the multi-purpose room that located at the end of the field. "
We immediately went to the multi-purpose room that located at the end of the sports field.
This room was divided into three parts; the first room was used to store combat equipment, the second room to store sports equipment, and the third was the shower and locker room.
After arriving at the first room, all students in class 11 A and B were amazed to see the object that stored in this room.
Naturally, students in my class were amazed to see the object in this room, because the student that could access this room was only 11th and 12th grade students from the soldier major, so this was their first experience of visiting this room.
This combat equipment storage room was twice the size our classroom, so a lot of weapons could be stored in this room.
Then, the homeroom teacher from class 11 B clapped his hands to divert the attention of students to him, and afterwards he began to speak.
"Now, we will distribute your combat suit that you will use for training and hunting monsters.”
After that, they showed us the combat suit of men and women.
"This is the combat suit that you will use, Its shape was very simple, but the material of these clothes is very strong. Does anyone know what material that used to make these clothes? "
The teacher was asking questions to the student, and suddenly the student who stood in the front was raising his right hand, and answered the teacher's question.
"I know! That clothes are made of Nanocellulose. That material is eight times stronger than steel and stronger than Kevlar, besides that, its production cost is cheaper. "
"Yes, you are right. This combat suit was made of Nanocellulose. That material was discovered in 1970, and after a lot of research, this material is already used in many goods throughout the world, including cars, howlet, and weaponry. "
This combat suit’s shape was almost like the usual sports clothing.
The men’s combat suit was black short-sleeve T-shirts, gray shorts, and there was white lines at the edge of the shirt and pants.
The women’s combat suit was black long-sleeve T-shirts, white shorts, and there was grey lines at the edge of the shirt and pants.
Then Mr. Watanabe instructed students to line up.
"There will be four sizes for this combat suit, that size are S, M, L, and XL. These clothes are also elastic and it will adjust to your body size. So, you just need to mention your height, the small size (S) is for height under 170 cm, medium size (M) for height between 171 to 180 cm, large size (L) for height between 181 to 190 cm, and size extra large (XL) for height above 190 cm. But, from what I see, this class doesn’t have the student that has a height above 190 cm, so the XL size will be unused. "
The homeroom teacher from class 11 B also responded.
"Let's line up in front of us, and the student who have received this combat suit must go to the locker room. You are also to store your howlet bracelet at your locker, because we don’t use howlet in the combat training session. "
I immediately lined up in the back row, and I deliberately chose the last turn so I would not attract other students attention.
After waiting for nearly ten minutes, then came my turn to receive the combat suit. Other students had gone to the locker room, so I was the last student in this room.
Then, I mentioned my height to Mr. Watanabe.
"My height is 170 cm, so I choose the medium size (M)."
Mr. Watanabe gave me the medium size’s combat suit, but just before he gave that combat suit to me, he stopped and stared at me.
"Hmm .. Your height is 170 cm, but how much do you weigh? "
I could not think clearly because of that sudden question, then I told him my real weight.
"My weight is 52 kg."
"What!? 52 kilograms? That was so thin, let me see your status. "
Argh.. Damn!
I could not lie to him, and my status would be checked. It would certainly be problematic, but I could not escape anymore.
Afterwards, I showed him my status display, then Mr. Watanabe somewhat surprised to see my status.
"Below average status, rank E, and hybrid major. Are you sure that you want to remain in this major? I’m not insulting you, but you should change your major, because with this kind of status you will not be able to survive in the soldier major. So, while we still at the beginning of school terms, you should change your major before it's too late. "
I knew it…
I was sure that Mr. Watanabe would say that.
He asked my weight because my body was thin and certainly he would be suspicious of my status. The average strength (STR) of a normal person is 8 points, while my strength was just 6 points. It must be because of my weight was below the average and I was rarely exercising, so my physical status was below average.
But, I would not give up that easily, I would still remain in the soldier major.
"I will still choose this soldier major, even though my status is below average, but I will not give up! "
Even after I said that, Mr. Watanabe still asked me to move to the worker major.
"If you remain in this major then your life will be threatened, because your skill is below average, and I’m sure that you cannot keep up with the other student. "
I insisted and look at Mr. Watanabe's face with a serious look.
"Whatever you say, I will still stay in this major! But, please don’t tell other students about my status and also don’t treat me differently."
Then, after a long debate, he finally sighed, and he seemed to give up.
"Well, I cannot interfere with your decision, but I ‘m just going to warn you about the risk. Also, I won’t tell the other students about it, but please consider my suggestions. If you felt that you couldn’t survive in this department, then tell me and I will move you to the worker major. "
“Okay, thanks for your considerations.”
I bowed to him and said thank you, after that I went into the locker room.
Whatever other people’s opinion about me, I did not care about it and I would never give up, because my only hope to get a decent salary was by entering this soldier major.
At least, if I died in the line of duty, then I would get the insurance money. That insurance money value was greater than the value of people who work in the normal office.
With that insurance money, I would be able to help my family. Of course, I would not died easily, and I must be successful by using every possible way.
# # #
Finally, I arrived at the men’s locker room.
When I got here, I finally knew the reason why Mr. Watanabe concerned about my physical status, because almost all male students in here had athletic bodies and trained muscles.
There was also some students who had the sixpack muscles. Surely, they had been training since the beginning, because they knew the soldier major required its students to had a strong body.
I did not have any preparation, because since the beginning I did not plan to choose the soldier major. I chose this major because I was forced by my circumstances.
After waiting a few minutes, the majority of male students in the locker room were already get out, then I quickly changed my clothes and headed back to the combat equipment room.
# # #
When I arrived at the combat equipment room, there seemed to be something different in all students combat suits, the stripe at the edge of their clothes was turned into a wide variety of colors.
Then, our teachers immediately called the students to listen to their explanation.
"You can see something different in your combat suit, the lines that previously had white or grey colors are already changing. The color of the line indicates the type of your element, its purpose is to let your teammates and instructors know about your element type, so it will be easier to prepare the strategy.
The red color is the element of fire, blue is water, brown is earth, purple is electric, green is wind, gray is metal, black is darkness, yellow is light, and white is neutral. "
I looked to the whole room, and it seemed the element of the student in this room were balanced, so there was no dominant element.
The element that was rarely seen in this room were darkness, light, and neutral elements. Just a few students who had this kind of elements, including me, who had the neutral element.
So, Was I a special person?
Of course not, because I thought the element factor was not too important for hunting the monster.
The monster out there had a diverse elements, so we could not rely on the element factor.
For example, the water element would win against the fire element, but how many monsters out there that had the fire element? Surely, we could not count them, so the most important things to survive was a good status and skill.
Afterwards, Mr. Watanabe walked to the weapons storage area.
"Okay students, now you will choose the weapon that you want. There are only two types of weapons, melee and long range weapons, and certainly there are no guns in this room. "
Hearing this, one of the student asked.
"I often read in the history that a gun was useless against the monster, so why weapons such as swords and bows is more useful than a gun?
Then, Mr. Watanabe explained the reason to that student.
"A gun consists of various materials such as frame, barrel, and bullets, so there are so many elements inside the gun. Unlike guns, swords and bows only made of two types materials.
So, which one is easier, flowing your aura to the weapon that made of many different materials and consist many types of elements, or to the weapon which only consists of two type materials and one element? "
"It's easier to flow my aura to the object that is only made of two materials."
"Yes, that’s right! Just imagine, if you have to flow your aura to the gun, and focus your aura to the bullet in the gun, certainly, it will be harder and time-consuming. While weapons such as swords and bows were made with two type materials, so it’s easier to flow your aura into that weapon.”
Afterwards, the homeroom teacher from class 11 B also added some explanations.
"I also want to remind you, that all weapons such as swords in this era had been made heavier. An ordinary sword can weigh more than 10 kg, and it is made of solidified steel."
"Why it was made heavier? Does the more lighter the weapon will be easier to use, and the attack speed will be faster?”
"The monster’s body has an outstanding resistance against physical attacks, so any sharpest sword, even guns would not give them serious injuries, maybe just a scratch. So, the scientist decided to use heavier weapons in order to give more impact against the monster.
Just imagine, which is more effective, to beat someone with a barbell weighing 10 kg or 100 kg? Obviously, the heavier weapons will give more impact to attack.
The monster’s body could be penetrated by an attack that containing an aura, so by using a sword weighing 20 kg plus the aura that flow to the sword, then the attack can penetrate the body of the monster, and give 20 kg impact against it.
So, the monster’s stability will falter and fall.”
"Then why the bomb could hurt the monster?"
"The bomb explosion had the element of fire, and in fact a supernatural power is the power of elements. But, not all monsters are weak against the element of fire, and the result of bomb explosion cannot be focused to one point.
Just Imagine, throwing a bomb to the ground and the ground is the monster skin, when the bomb explodes, its explosion will blast to the air or outwards, and not all explosion will flow into the ground.
It has the same principle with weapons that produces an explosion like rocket launcher, when the rocket launched is used against the monster, the rocket will touch the monster skin first and then exploded.
But, the monster skin is resistant to physical attacks, so even if that rocket exploded, but the explosion will blast outwards and could not injure the inside of the monster's body.
So, with an attack using a sword that flowed by an aura, then the sword can penetrate the monster skin and give the element’s attack to the monster body.”
"Okay, thank you for the explanation."
After the explanation of weapons mechanism was completed, then our teachers explained the team’s position.
"Well, this will be the final explanation before you choose your weapon. Next explanation is about the team position. There are three positions in the team, that positions are Attacker, Defender, and Supporter.
Attacker is the person whose job is to attack monsters from close or long range.
Defender is a person whose job is to distract the monster, and protect the attackers and supporters from the monster’s attack.
Supporter is a person whose job is to heal, look at the situation, and help to attack the monster.
There are 5 students and 1 instructor in a team, usually the combination is 2 attackers, 2 defender, and 1 supporter.
So, choose your weapon by considering the position that you want, but don’t worry too much about it, because your instructor will adjust your position again. "
# # #
The teacher’s explanation was finally completed, and after that, students immediately looked into the whole room and trying the weapon that they wanted.
I also did the same, and after looking around, my attention was drawn to the weapon named 'Normal Sword (2)'. This weapon had a length of about 110 cm so it was quite fitting for me.
But ...
As soon as I took it up, my hand immediately pushed down.
This weapon was heavy!
I immediately remembered my teacher’s explanation who explained that most weapons in this era were made heavier.
This sword weight was 12 kilograms, maybe this sword felt heavy because I had a below average strength.
Then, I put that sword back into its place, and after that, there was another student who took that sword.
When he took the sword that I tried before, he immediately said something by showing a surprised expression.
"Wow, this sword is so light!"
!!! ??
What!?
I immediately looked at him, and saw other students also say the same thing.
"Yeah, you’re right, why this weapon feels so light, but the teacher said this weapon is made heavier, are they wrong?"
"Ooh, I know! Perhaps, it’s because of our strength."
"I see.. How much strength do you have?"
"My strength is 11 points, how bout your strength?"
"My strength is 10 points. It’s indeed, because of our strength, so this sword that weighs 12 kg feels like only 2 kg. "
......
Oh my gosh, so that's it.
From their conversation, I learned that strength affected the weight that could be lifted by us. That student’s strength was 10 points, so he could lift objects weighing up to 10 kg to just feel like lifting objects weighing 1 kg.
Because, he raised that sword weighing 12 kg, so there was a difference of 2 points, then he would feel the weight of that sword was only 2 kg
So, I could only lift objects weighing up to 6 kg, in order to feel like lifting objects weighing 1 kg. Then, I must choose the weapon that had a maximum weight of 6kg.
Then, I immediately searched, and after looking for a while, my attention was drawn to the weapons storage area that located at the corner of the room. There were weapons with a weight level of ‘1’ in that area.
There were three levels of weight for weapons, number ‘1’ was for the lightest weapon, and number ‘3’ for the heaviest weapon.
I stood in front of the weapon storage level ‘1’. There were katana swords and knives in this storage, but strangely there were no students who took these type of weapons.
Luckily, Mr. Watanabe stood near the weapon storage level ‘1’.
I used this chance to ask him.
"Sir, why there are no students who chose katana swords and knives? "
Mr. Watanabe saw me, and then he answered my question.
"Katana sword was sharp and strong, but the monster can’t be damaged by a mere physical attack. So, instead choosing a weapon by its sharpness, it’s wiser to choose a weapon based on its weight, so the attack will be more effective because it has more impact.
As for knives, It’s rarely chosen because of its low range.”
"Okay .. thank you sir."
No wonder, if there was no male students who went to the weapons storage area level ‘1’, because they could use heavier weapons from levels ‘2’ to level ‘3’.
Afterwards, I focused my attention to these two weapons, katana swords and knives.
The katana sword had a length of 106 cm and a weight of 1 kg.
The knife had a length of 30 cm and weighs about 0.5 kg.
Indeed, the katana sword’s reach was longer than the knife, but I also needed protection from the attack.
In the anime and manga that I had seen, there was rarely a heroine that used katana sword and shield, because the katana sword was a two handed weapon.
Therefore, I would take a knife because I also had to use a shield to protect myself. If I decided to use the katana sword, it would slow down my movements, and I could not be as flexible as when using a knife.
Also, my strength was low, so instead I blocked the incoming attack, I preferred to avoid it.
Then, I took two knives called 'Normal Combat Knife (1)'. I took two knives because I intended to keep one knife as a backup weapon.
The knife blade and handle color were dark blue. In the middle of the knife’s handle, there was a small indicator light.
This knife also came with a blue colored sheath. The knife’s sheath thickness was only about 2 millimeters, although it the thickness was very thin, but this sheath was made of elastic and strong materials.
After that, I walked to the other side of the room to go to the shield storage area.
The shield’s storage was not divided by weight, and there were only two types of shield, big shield and small round shield.
The big shield was called a 'Riot Shield', it had a height of 87 cm and a weight of 7 kg, while the round shield was called a 'Buckler', it had a diameter of 35 cm and a weight of 3 kg.
I decided to choose the round shield that called the 'Buckler', because this shield was not too heavy and not too large in size.
So by using the Buckler, then I could easier avoid the attack, as well as defending against incoming attacks.
# # #
Finally, I had finished choosing my combat equipment, I chose two pieces of knife and one shield.
http%3a%2f%2f2.bp.blogspot.com%2f-yBx4OApuLV4%2fVf...%252Brsz.jpg [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yBx4OApuLV4/VfvHfRjfEBI/AAAAAAAAAFM/NDwxdu9lkpk/s640/michio%2Bweapon%2Brsz.jpg]
Afterwards, I walked to the corner of the room to await for further instructions.
While waiting, I was looking into the whole room, and after a while, my attention was focused on the Hideki and Ichirou.
From what I saw, Hideki took 'Normal Sword (2)' as his weapon, and 'Riot Shield' for his shield. He chose to be a defender, so that equipment would suit him, because normally a defender would choose a sword and shield as their combat equipment.
Then I looked into Ichirou, and apparently he took....
!!?
What!?
I'm confused by what I saw ..
Ichirou armed himself with two swords, that sword was 'Normal Sword (2)'.
So, he would be using a dual sword technique, but I had only just seen that technique in anime. Was he inspired by the legendary anime Saber Art Online from a century ago? Because, since that anime was aired, many martial arts schools started teaching the dual sword technique.
But, I did not worry about it..
Because, certainly people like Ichirou already knew what he would do, and I was sure that he had learned that technique.
After that, my attention was drawn to women in my class.
There were only 27 women in this room, and they gathered in one corner of the room.
They seemed to take a stick called 'Magic Wand (1)' as their weapon.
Naturally, women would take the 'Magic Wand' as their weapon, because women could control the flow of supernatural power better than men. So, usually women who chose the soldier major would become a 'Magician'. The magician was the soldier who attacked the monster with their supernatural power from long distance.
I could not use the magic wand as my weapon, because my element was a neutral element, and I just got one skill that was the 'Soul Gathering'. So, even though I focused my aura into the magic wand, it would certainly not generate any attack.
Unless, I had other elements such as electricity, then with hard training, maybe I could pull out a small electric from that wand.
A few moments later, all students had finished choosing their combat equipment, and after that the teacher directs students to the field.
"Next, we will go to practice, for the male students you will be sparring against each other, and for female students you will train with the upperclassman about how to use the magic wand.
In sparring, the male student should not open their weapon sheath, because it could seriously injure your sparring partner. Also, you should not afraid of getting injured, because the upperclassman and teachers will heal your wounds with our supernatural powers.
Okay, Let’s go to the field! "
Finally, the things that I worried the most would about to begin, I hoped that I could go through all of this.
< Chapter 3 coming soon >